Companies tackle issue of under-skilled workforce

Wednesday

Jan 23, 2013 at 3:04 PM

DavidsonWorks hosted a Salute to Manufacturing event Wednesday morning at Tricia's Catering to support manufacturing, share information on education and training opportunities and ask business leaders to join efforts to build Davidson County's workforce.

BY REBEKAH CANSLER MCGEEThe Dispatch

DavidsonWorks hosted a Salute to Manufacturing event Wednesday morning at Tricia's Catering to support manufacturing, share information on education and training opportunities and ask business leaders to join efforts to build Davidson County's workforce.More than 50 business leaders attended the informational breakfast. "Whether you're a high-tech manufacturer or low-tech like me (Pallet Resources), manufacturing is important," said Neal Grimes, a member of the DavidsonWorks Workforce Development Board.One of the presenters was Dave Drugman of Honda Aircraft. He said roughly two years ago the governor put an initiative in place to develop the aerospace workforce in North Carolina. The aerospace industry is comprised of around 300 companies in the state. After a statewide survey, the industry leaders discovered a common problem in every company."We were hurting when it came to entry-level people, zero to four years," Drugman said, noting that there was the largest need for machinists. So members of Honda Aircraft sat down with other Piedmont companies such as Triumph, TIMCO, Cessna and FedEx to discuss how they could combat the industry's deficiency. The product of those meetings was the knowledge that each company needed a generic person with certain basic skills. But the companies couldn't do it alone. The group approached the community colleges, wanting to develop a new training program. Davidson County Community College was one of the colleges that implemented an accelerated certificate program for machinists. But it wasn't only the community college that partnered with the aerospace companies. DavidsonWorks is a large part of the process.It administers WorkKeys skills tests, and if an applicant is selected, he or she is sent back to the workforce board for additional training.Not only is the college doing its part, but Davidson County has gone one step further with the new Yadkin Valley Regional Career Academy. The program implements science, technology, engineering and mathematics into the academic curriculum to prepare students for successful careers in jobs of the future. "How can we attract future companies if we don't have the workforce to support our own companies?" asked Barry Sink, who helped form the academy.The five colleges participating, Randolph, Forsyth, Guilford, Surry and Davidson, can educate 68 people per round of machinist training. DCCC is preparing to start another round of classes in March.Drugman said that over the course of just more than a year, more than 200 people can graduate with a machinist certificate through the partnership with the colleges. While he admitted that his company cannot absorb that many people, the entire state can."There is an increasing demand for these folks. We (the companies) have to turn away business because we don't have machinists," Drugman said.Cindy Livengood, executive director of DavidsonWorks, reiterated that the event was to salute an industry that was a large part of Davidson County."We ask you to look for local ways to connect and develop the workforce. That might be a plant tour, talking to students, on-the-job training or an internship," Livengood said. Rebekah Cansler McGee can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 228, or at rebekah.mcgee@the-dispatch.com.

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